Many are beginning to realize the long-term repercussions of indulging in frequent social media use, which can create insecurities in people who fall into the habit of comparing themselves to others and creating ideals based on others living a particular lifestyle. We live in an age where the judgment of others matters too much, and we derive our identities through the eyes of others, regurgitating inauthentic opinions to sound informed about multi-layered concepts. Let’s explore this in more detail.
Are Warning Labels Necessary for Social Media Use?
Millennials and Gen Z have spent a good portion of their lives indulging in social media use, where the common currency is attention. People are becoming programmed to seek out instant gratification at the price of conditioning themselves to submit to base desires and the need for validation.
If you’re bored or feeling lazy, social media provides a quick escape into the virtual world, where you create an ideal self-image for yourself and try to get others to buy into it by presenting yourself to be a certain way. Social media should come with a warning label because people are creating social media accounts younger than should be legal and reshaping their minds to create a false identity that will cause them existential problems in the long run.
However, as humans, we crave connection and interactions with others, which is why social media is so appealing. In the modern age, you can connect with anyone across the world at the convenience of pressing a button or browsing through your social media platforms. This technology is surely a blessing but has also become a curse in many ways where people are no longer secure with themselves and feel the need to put on a front or persona to be liked and accepted by everyone.
Is Social Media Harmful?
Social media has the potential to be harmful to growing minds, especially the younger crowd, who begin to derive a false sense of self-importance by consuming content and projecting an idealized identity. Attention and ‘likes’ become a positive reinforcement loop that feeds back into itself and reinforces a fabricated identity. However, life is complex and constantly points out this inner deception within us, giving rise to anxiety and many mental health conditions.
Depression rates are at an all-time high, and people are more anxious than ever. Social media use is certainly harmful, but it can be regulated so that we spend more time doing things that are more meaningful and relevant to the world we inhabit. It is the parent’s responsibility to ensure that their growing children prioritize playing among themselves outdoors instead of developing the habit of using their devices all day long.
Final Verdict
The disconnection from reality that social media provides is certainly harmful and toxic in the long run, especially if it becomes programmed in our minds from an early age. Although the brain is neuroplastic, there is only so much we can change as the years progress, and it becomes more difficult to make permanent lifestyle changes. Life has a way of intervening and providing harsh lessons, which are a guidepost to return to a more functional way of living.